Examining How Bone Cancer Develops and Resists Chemotherapy

Canine osteosarcoma is the most common bone cancer in dogs, and large and giant breed dogs are commonly affected. This tumor is highly aggressive, and less than 25 percent of dogs survive for two years after initial diagnosis and treatment with conventional therapies. Death is often due to widespread metastasis to the lungs. Treatment options, which include amputation and chemotherapy, and prognosis for this tumor type have not improved significantly in the past 20 years because little is known about how this cancer develops, metastasizes and resists treatment. Patients whose tumor cells produce greater amounts of rapamycin (mTOR ) protein, which regulates cell growth, have a poorer prognosis and decreased survival time, but it is not known how this increased level of mTOR affects tumor development. This study will explore the role that two complexes formed by this protein, mTOR C1 and mTOR C2, play in canine osteosarcoma metabolism and anticancer drug resistance. Data from this study could help improve current treatment models and help those breeds most affected by osteosarcoma. 

D10CA-816A
Dr. Luke B. Borst, North Carolina State University, Pilot Study